A collapsible construction assembly is known from my German patent document No. 2,625,455 which refers to German Pat. Nos. 1,778,357 and 1,900,901. This assembly has a normally upright post provided with vertically spaced horizontal plates each formed with a plurality of notches opening outward relative to the post axis from the sides of the post. Upper and lower frame traverses interconnected by a vertical strut have at their ends fittings that can engage in these notches, which are formed with a widened central region. The fittings are complementarily formed, so that the traverses can be dropped into the notches to assume a position wherein relative horizontal movement of the frame traverses and post is impossible. The fittings are also formed with passages that are throughgoing parallel to the respective plates, the passage of the upper traverse being above the upper plate and the passage of the lower traverse being below the lower plate. Wedges or keys can be fitted through these upper and lower passages to bear respectively downward and upward on the respective plates, thereby locking the assembly snugly together.
Such an arrangement can be used to make a structure in which the spacing between plates is the floor-to-ceiling distance, so that appropriate floor and ceiling members can be connected to the lower and upper traverses. The number of plates can be increased on a single post to increase the number of stories of the collapsible structure formed thereby.
Although such an assembly is extremely rigid, it is relatively difficult to put together. The fittings must be meticulously positioned and then the respective wedges inserted in each of them, an operation that normally requires several workers. When the post has four sides and four frames are to be secured to it, one must therefore insert eight keys or wedges.